“Whatever skills you have as a creative person, they become weaponized when you understand branding.”

In this episode of Deep Dive, Chris talks with branding and marketing legend, Marty Neumeier. They discuss Marty’s journey from Art Center College of Design all the way through to his experience working in Silicon Valley. The two enter a deep conversation about connecting creativity to business, how to do better by doing less and answer the question: What is branding?

A brand is a person’s gut feeling about a product, service or organization. It’s not a logo, promise, product, or a marketing asset.

You might have heard us say this a few times before, but we’re only repeating it because it’s absolutely crucial to know this definition, plus we have the man behind the quote with us on the podcast today.

As the author of eight books on branding, Marty is what we’d call an expert on the subject. The man is and always has been ahead of his time, knowing at the age of 7 that he would be a commercial artist.

After two years at Art Center, he opened up his first freelance business as a graphic designer. He was the only graphic designer to take up an ad in the Yellowpages (bonus points if you know what that is). He found himself having to explain what he did and why graphic design was necessary to potential clients.

Explaining how design and business interacted together and the value design could bring to a business sparked something in Marty.

He began paying more attention to award-winning work; what it looked like, sounded like, and felt like. He picked up writing—though he wasn’t a huge fan of it at first—to articulate and explore his ideas further. This gave him the space to find that connection between business and design, and how creativity worked across all fronts.

Listen to the full episode to hear more about how Marty became the branding expert he is today.